


Sex and Violence

by yourlibrarian



Category: Deadwood, Life on Mars, Mad Men
Genre: Gen, Meta, Misogyny, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 10:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6851926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some thoughts about why TV is suddenly so interested in setting stories in earlier time periods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sex and Violence

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on July 14, 2008.

I started watching Life on Mars this week and within the first episode began thinking of Mad Men and why this particular series should be the latest effort of American producers to redo a British show. And it seems to me the reason is pernicious. Don't get me wrong, I think both series are worth watching and Mad Men in particular is very well written. But it's rather interesting how the historical settings conveniently allow for the expression of viewpoints and exclusion of people that white male writers would prefer to indulge in (or not).

I've only seen one episode of Deadwood and I really wasn't interested enough to look for more. Again, a critically lauded series, and again one with a historical setting that allowed it to take stories to places where a contemporary setting couldn't. One thing everyone seems to comment on about the series is the amount of cursing it contains (which I soon found repetitive and tiresome). Similarly, Mad Men seems to revel in the amount of misogyny it can express and starts out in the first episode making clear why there will be an absence of minority characters. (Interestingly, some people actually in the ad business in those days [take issue with](http://www.slate.com/id/2170644/) the accuracy of this portrayal.) 

I've only seen 4 episodes of Mars so far, but there seems to be an exploitation of a time where men were unapologetically crass and violent (as if somehow, male violence doesn't continue to be glorified everywhere in the media), power was exerted with gusto, and women were there to be leered at. These depictions are contrasted with today as if it's something we're now missing. One scene in particular leaped out at me. Even though Sam, our "time traveling" cop relies on Annie's professionalism from the start, he does nothing to suggest to his fellow cops that their behavior towards her is at all out of line. Yet when he and his guv drag in a hearing-impaired fellow whose aid sets off police radios and Phyllis complains sharply, he dresses her down for not treating the witness with some human dignity. Yet as often as not, he stands by while male cops physically beat witnesses and suspects. What does he ask Annie? To get the guy some coffee. 

Racism, however, seems to be a touchier subject. There is one minority character present in the form of the Caribbean pub owner. His status goes unremarked, perhaps because by being their barman he is in everyone's good graces. Class is also elusive since, so far, since everyone who's appeared is from the working and lower classes, almost all of whom are treated with a rough disregard. In this area Mad Men pulls fewer punches, being as blatant about their racism and classism as their view of women. This should actually make the show less tolerable.

It's funny though, how much we excuse in the presence of good writing. For example, it really irks me that Sam can be so dim. I have several times anticipated what is going on while he seems to need it spelled out for him. I can't tell if this is just sloppy writing, or if this is the writers making a point -– that Sam is not just naïve about life given his coddled, clean existence in our current day –- but that he is a naïve person, period. As a result, I find the indulgence in this male fantasy viewpoint more irksome in Mars than Mad Men. 

While shows about ad men have been fairly rare, shows about cops have been abundant. The way 1973 is portrayed in Mars supports its title. Granted, maybe it's the cultural difference –- I've no idea if it's any way accurate in reflecting police work in England at the time -– but I have to wonder how much of this behavior was actually reflected in cop shows of that era, and how accurate any of that was either. If history really were the last bastion of crass, violent, white guys who were in charge with no input from any of the rest of us, I think I might feel better about how period shows are used to portray these viewpoints. But if you ask me, white men are still pretty much in charge of most things, and certainly the media. I don't think these viewpoints are all that hidden in their present day settings either, just, perhaps, less reveled in.


End file.
